Faces in Time
by Arala
Summary: Basically a short series of scenes between Integra and Walter -- my maiden voyage in fanfics. Be nice! ^^;


Title: Faces in Time  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing. I don't own any of the characters in this fic. Don't hurt me! o_o;  
  
Archive: If you really want to? Just let me know.  
  
Author: Arala (mbenua@fit.edu)  
  
Author's Notes: Well. It's a short piece, and… I'm not quite sure what it is, aside from a semi-related series of scenes through Integra's life that show her ever-changing (and yet static) relationship with Walter. Okay, I lied – I do know what the fic's about. ^_~ I don't particularly know /why/ I wrote it, but I suppose it'll do as a decent first-fic. But I'm sure you didn't click the link to read my ramblings… so just leave me a review? And don't hurt me? ^^;;  
  
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"Walter-sama!" The excited squeal of the three-year-old child that came barreling down the hallway, platinum pigtails streaming out behind her, brought a smile to the weary man's face. Yet as he bent down to catch the exuberant bundle of energy ensconced in a dark blue pinafore in a fierce hug, Walter paused. How could he explain to the sweetly innocent little girl the reason that her daddy had come home looking so, so sad, and had bypassed her altogether? How could he explain to her that the vicious, hated undead had stolen away her mother, without shattering that too- precious naiveté?  
  
"Integra-chan." The serious tone to his voice was enough to drag her attention from babbling on about the new book she and nurse had read together earlier in the day. "There is something I must tell you."  
  
**************  
  
Quiet and solemn was the nine-year-old girl that wandered the halls of the Hellsing mansion, evicted from a private lesson with her father when his commander had arrived and whisked her father away to deal with a situation. Still, the unexpected appearance of Walter, around the corner, was enough to bring a bright smile to her face, and to encourage Integra into a faster pace. "Walter-sama!"  
  
The use of the child's nickname for her beloved guardian was barely enough to chase away the grim shadows that played around Walter's face. "Yes, Integra-chan?" He paused before her, resting a hand possessively on the young girl's shoulder, as if mere contact could keep her safe from the horror that had been chained, today, down in the dungeons.  
  
"Would you come and help me with my lesson? Father had to go see to business." A silent nod and smile were all the tacit answers needed to encourage Integra to clasp Walter's hand and drag him down towards her rooms. "He was teaching me about vampires…"  
  
**************  
  
"Walter-san."  
  
For a moment, Walter did not recognize the weary figure of his thirteen- year-old charge; certainly, the blood that stained her shoulder and the shadows that hung around her were something new, even since her father had passed on. "You've been hurt, Integra-san? What's happened!?" He couldn't keep the concern from his voice: Walter had reservations about leaving young Integra alone in the house, but had reluctantly agreed. Now, the dreadful feeling came to him that he would live to regret his absence, even if it had been in pursuit of ghouls.  
  
"I've taken care of it." Abruptly, the shadows in the hallway behind Integra condensed into a figure Walter had last seen, chained and spellbound in the dungeon. "Uncle will not be threatening Hellsing any longer." There was no flinch given as a white-gloved hand descended to rest atop her wounded shoulder, and Walter silently marveled over the sudden, drastic changes that had overcome the girl in such a short period. Still, she summoned a faint smile for her old guardian, even as she tacitly introduced a new one.  
  
"Arucard will help me protect the queen now." And there was naught Walter could do but force a smile towards the vampire.  
  
**************  
  
"What is it, Walter-san? Another ghoul-sighting?" There could be no mistaking the inherent tiredness in the husky voice that belonged to the figure perched behind the desk, who's overlarge glasses reflected the latest report pulled up on her computer screen.  
  
The gray-haired man merely shook his head, letting a small smile play across his lips as he set a package down atop the desk. "I wished to give you your gift early. Happy eighteenth birthday, Integra-sama."  
  
A pause, and then that familiar smile that harkened back years slowly dominated over the perpetual scowl Integra had been wearing lately as she began to unwrap the parcel. "There was no need to…" Blinking, she removed a silver-plated handgun, engraved with the Hellsing insignia, and automatically tested its weight in her hand. "Perfect… thank you, Walter- san." And that smile, that much-cherished smile, the one reserved solely for him, was beamed upwards at her old guardian. "It's wonderful."  
  
**************  
  
Still. Utterly still and far too pale was the broken figure that lay in an ever-expanding pool of her own blood, the knife that had been her demise still clenched in one hand, while the ashes of her enemy blew on some arcane wind, drifting through the room in a macabre shower.  
  
"Integra-sama…" The voice of the old man was soft, utterly grief-stricken as he bent to pick up the limp body of his twenty-three year old master. "Go! Get the doctors." It took merely a look to intimidate Selas into action, but he would need far more than simple intimidation to remove the hovering Arucard.  
  
"Go, help her! I will bring…" The limp figure was hefted gently in Walter's arms, as if she weighed no more than the sweet three-year-old she'd not been in so long. "I will bring Integra-sama." And as he moved through the doors and down the stairs at a pace unthinkable in a burdened man his age, a faint smile appeared as he gazed down at that face, so peaceful finally despite the necklace of crimson. "Don't worry, Integra-chan. I'll make it right."  
  
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